A Comprehensive Guide to Treatment Facilities and Services
Addiction is not a personal failing. It is not something you can “just stop.” It’s a disease that can be fatal if not treated. Addicts need help, not derision. They need compassion, not dismissiveness. They are, after all, human beings. At the Recreate Behavioral Health Network, we acknowledge addicts’ humanity and provide them with a course of treatment that can give them the tools they need to overcome their disease.
It’s a mistake to think that addicts can “do it by themselves.” The nature of the disease is such that the addict suffers personality changes. The physical and mental addiction can become so strong as to make people do things that their sober selves would never, under any circumstances, do. They’ll lie, steal, and worse, to get the drug that fuels their sickness. Also, in many cases, detoxification is so dangerous as to be life-threatening if it’s not properly monitored by medical professionals. At a rehab center, addicts will be able to be monitored the right way when it comes to detoxification and also when it comes to the beginning of the recovery process.
In New Jersey, there are more than 300 treatment centers. Most of these are outpatient facilities, but there are a few hospital-based options and a few dozen inpatient facilities as well. About a quarter of them accept Medicare or Medicaid, and most of them allow insurance to pay for at least part of the costs involved. Eight in 10 rehabilitation centers in New Jersey provide concurrent mental-health treatment as part of the treatment of addiction, and four in 10 such centers also provide treatment for disorders that are separate from the addiction.
We’re committed to ending the vicious cycle of rehabilitation, relapse, and “rinse and repeat.” High-quality mental healthcare and addiction treatment are our core tenets. You’ll never receive judgment from us. After all, many of the people who work for us are in recovery themselves, so we truly “get it.”
Types of New Jersey Rehab Centers
Residential treatment involves the addict staying at the treatment center for the duration of the treatment. The chief advantage of this method is that detoxification can be done safely, and the professional staff can see to the person’s mental-health needs as well as physical needs. Also, with inpatient treatment, there will be a feeling of camaraderie between the patients. Having someone on your side when you’re struggling is a great boost to the process.
The chief disadvantage is cost. Even with assistance, some folks just won’t be able to afford such a program. Then, there is the problem of what to do about the addict’s job. Many employers won’t give an employee time off to go to rehab and will just terminate the employee. It’s also tough when the person is a single parent. Who will watch the children when the parent is in rehab? The benefits and drawbacks of nonresidential treatment are the exact opposite of residential treatment.
It’s also a sad fact that folks with money to burn can afford better treatment than people who have to work for a living or who live in poverty and are either unable to get a job or keep one because of their addictions. There are rehabs that more resemble spas than treatment centers, providing luxuries that might not have anything to do with successful treatment.
Other treatment centers are faith-based, which might work well for believers but wouldn’t if the person happened to be of a different religious background than those who run the centers. Also, the person might be agnositc or even atheist and have no desire to develop a faith, leaving that person out at those centers. Some treatment centers are gender-specific. Others are holistic in their approach. Addicts and their families should seriously consider everything about each available treatment program before making a well-informed decision about where to seek treatment.
Treatment Approaches and Therapies
The biggest tool in the recovering addict’s toolbox is a collection of healthy coping strategies. To develop such strategies using Cognitive Behavior Therapy, the therapist must analyze the patient to determine the motivating factors in the patient’s addiction. For example, if the patient begins using drugs to cope with a devastating loss of some kind, then the therapist will suggest coping strategies that help the patient deal with the emotional trauma. The idea is to get patients to think about their situations and to work with the therapist in developing the coping strategies and modifying their philosophy and life outlook. It’s also a useful tool at treating dual diagnoses, such as a situation where a patient suffers from anxiety as well as substance abuse.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy teaches patients to validate good experiences and to change the causes of bad experiences. A simple example would be getting addicts to change their beliefs regarding their addiction while reinforcing the good feelings they get when completing a task or following their hobby. It goes well together with Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
Motivational Interviewing is a treatment method where the therapist encourages patients to talk about their reasons for wanting help. As the patients describe these reasons, the therapist will guide them toward the good things and steer them away from the bad things. It is similar in this way to Dialectical Behavior Therapy. However, the chief idea behind Motivational Interviewing is empowering patients to decide, in essence, “I’m mad as hell that I’m an addict, and I’m not going to take it anymore.” The tricky part is that the therapist doesn’t “get the person to change.” Rather, the therapist inspires the patient to want to change.
As companions to these forms of therapy, art and music have a place, particularly when it comes to Dialectical Behavior Therapy. The art, music, or both will become hobbies for the patient and can therefore be encouraged as healthy expressions of the patient’s self. Riding horses is another way to inspire addicts. If the person becomes responsible for another living being, caring for it and bonding with it will be beneficial to person’s idea of self-worth. The horse and patient become a team.
How to Choose the Right Rehab Center
Aside from the concept of “whichever rehab center I can afford,” the first question addicts should ask is, “Do I need medically assisted detoxification?” If the answer is, “Yes,” then the person will have to choose a rehab that provides inpatient, medically supervised, and professional detoxification. The next question should be, “What other levels of care do I need?” Things to consider include: therapy for dual diagnoses, underlying additional medical conditions, and accessibility to family and friends during treatment.
Licensing and Accreditation
Patients should choose a rehab center that is both accredited and licensed, particularly if the patient has comorbid conditions that will continue to require treatment during rehab. Patients, their families and friends, or both should contact the New Jersey State Office of Addiction Services and Supports for more information about the addiction center they plan to choose for their recovery.
Conclusion
You don’t have to go through addiction alone. Not only will you be medically safer in a professional setting, but your chances of eventual success are much greater than if you try to “do it yourself.” For example, people who suffer from Alcohol Use Disorder, and who also try to “do it themselves,” fail at a rate of 75%. Only 1/3 of folks who have this disorder seek treatment for it, which means that the numbers for doing it alone are abysmal. It’s also a cruel fact that as many as 2/3 of all patients who seek treatment relapse at some point. Addiction is chronic, and addicts need aftercare and support even after completing even the most successful treatment program.
Still, getting help is the right answer. Call someone today as if your life depended on it because it does. In fact, call us at the Recreate Behavioral Health Network today. We’d be honored to help.
